The Hy-Vee Triathlon has generated $750,000 in its first three years for Variety–The Children’s Charity of Iowa.

“Hy-Vee’s participation with Variety is crucial to our success. Because Hy-Vee is such an integral part of Iowa’s communities, we gain immediate credibility and esteem by being associated with Hy-Vee,” says Sheri McMichael, the charity’s executive director. “People know that if Hy-Vee is behind something, it matters to the community.”

Variety provides grants to more than 80 separate charities every year. The money buys vans for disabled children, sponsors survivor camps for children with diabetes and cancer, and builds surgical suites designed for infant patients, among other things.

Variety also works with other non-profit groups to supply disadvantaged children with everything from specialized wheelchairs to backpacks filled with school supplies.

“Yes, Hy-Vee helps us raise dollars and provides many, many volunteers hours, but even more than that, Hy-Vee gives people the confidence to support Variety,” McMichael says. “The world-class Hy-Vee Triathlon is one more example of Hy-Vee’s commitment to providing family-oriented community events while promoting fitness and encouraging healthy lifestyles.”

The Variety Telethon is March 6-7 at the Polk County Convention Complex. The event, which will be broadcast in central Iowa on WOI-TV, has raised more than $70 million since 1975. The charity’s eastern Iowa branch will conduct its telethon March 8-12 during news broadcasts on KWWL-TV in Waterloo.